Notes / Commercial Description:
Citrus Ninja Exchange is the first of two collaboration beers brewed with The Charleston Beer Exchange. The first incarnation (released on draft only in September 2011) was a single-hopped Cascade double IPA brewed with approximately 50 lbs of fresh grapefruit, and then dry-hopped 4 times in the fermentor.

cloudy orange with a huge, billowing, pillow like head two inches tall. The head just would not give up any ground, very slow fade. Left behind enormous amounts of gooey sticky lace. Fantastic lookng, perfect double IPA look. Smell could have been a bit stronger and that was really the oly downside to the thing. Major contributer here was the citrus hops. Very strong grapefruit and pineapple came through from the start, as well as some of the alcohol, which at 9.4%abv, should come as no suprise. As it warmed, more of a piney, resin type smell started to xome through. Taste was very smooth, not alot of carbonation here, but not really needed. Very strong and very bitter citrus hops in this one. The grapefruit alone will make you take a step back. Hints of pineapple as well, big alcohol taste that seemed to mellow a bit as it warmed. Big dry finish, left you wanting some more. This was a very smooth, very drinkable, and overall really good DIPA.

From old notes. Thanks to Calton for the growler. Received and enjoyed in early October.

Pours a nice burnt orange color with a finger of white head. Smells quite citrusy, which is very nice. There's quite a bit of pine to it, maybe a hint of tropical fruit. But mostly it's grapefruit. There is a noticeable sweetness, though. The flavor is a bit sweeter than I'd like, but there is a really good bitterness and quite a lot of citrus hop flavor. Some pine and a slight herbal hop note as well. Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

Served from growler into a Green Man snifter. Poured a hazy red-orange with a one finger off white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, citrus (who would have thought?), pine, citrus hop, pine hop, and subtle sweet alcohol. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, pine, pine hop, citrus hop, and a bite of alcohol on the followthrough. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty solid brew. The citrus aspect of this one really carried nicely throughout the brew and helped to balance out the pine resin flavor. I have to be honest and say that the slight bite of alcohol on this one kind of hurt the drinkability of this one for me, but it is almost a 9% brew, so you should know this getting into it. A solid brew that should be tried by all!

Can't improve on some of the extensive reviews below, so let me just tick off what I like and don't... change things up...

Citrus Ninja has a very approachable, sweet and rounded profile, with lots of sugary grapefruit - no pithy bitters here - from start to finish. The hops, while large, are actually tamed by the malt, which has a real depth and thickness to it - reminds me of 90 Minute before it changed or my palate did. (It did, honest!)

Very easy to drink, smooth despite a bit of warming and hop bitters that linger, sweet malt and pervasive red grapefruit are the order here. The malt is unusual, and seems like it could be fermented out even more to higher and headier ABV - but this is good where it landed. I do not get the palate-wrecking that others have described, but maybe my growler mellowed - I am drinking it a bit late.

Citrus Ninja Exchange is a perfectly good malt-forward, grapefruit heavy Double IPA. Nothing edge-pushing, but not every beer has to be, and Westbrook is just beginning to rev up. Well done, all involved. This went down easy.

Deep amber color; browned in the center and honey-hued at the stem. I can't see through it, but it doesn't strike me as super cloudy. Two fingers of foam with a layer of bubbles topping that. The foam dissipates but the aforementioned layer of bubbles hangs around. Good amount of scattered patterns of lace, especially for a snifter. 4.0

Big time lemon aroma; more juicy than zesty. It has something of a lemon pine-sol flair, I reckon. Orange peel and faint, nondescript citrus blend in with the lemon. When I opened the growler the hop aroma was pretty dank, but now seems to have been misplaced. A few gentle swirls finds a touch of it and suggestions of tropical hop notes and peach. Not a lot of malt; the hops are backed by a mildly sweet cracker note. Too much lemon at times. 3.0

Heavy-hitting hop flavors, dense oils and some resin linger on the back end. Whereas many hop heavies crackle or hit fast, this one is a dull thud - slow, deliberate and sure. Shirking intense bitterness, a steady pine kick starts off and is fleshed out with some nippy, juicy citrus. Pretty impressive blend of hop flavors with just enough bitterness to round it on on the finish. Not too malty here, either - some cracker and subtle grain notes. 4.0

Assuming this is an IPA of some sort, it's pretty full-bodied for such a style. Certainly it's in no hurry to go anywhere. Carbonation seems pretty well proportioned to the overall feel. Alcohol is noticeable, especially as it starts to warm up; to that extent, I like it better on the cool side. Finishes with a bit of bitterness and a soft grittiness. Rather dry. 3.5

This beer progresses well throughout; it changes enough with time and temperature to keep it interesting. Some aspects of it I like better while cold (the feel and some of the flavor), some when warm (blend of flavors). It's boozy enough that this 32oz growler will be it for me tonight, though if I had crushed it quickly I might have room for a non-tickable. 3.5

A: Pours a dark amber orange color with the hop haze, massive creamy cap and excellent retention despite the ~9% abv. This looks like a beast of a beer.

S: Big heaping resin notes right off the bat along with orange peel and grapefruit. Definitely west coast in style. The malts help balance the big hop aromas with a little caramel and slight sweetness. The more this decants, the more the citrus comes out.

T: Big time bitterness - this is a palate wrecker for sure. Alcohol is well concealed. Huge hop presence consisting of resin, pine, and a solid dose of orange and grapefruit.

MF/O: Absolute monster body on this that leaves a sticky resin feel in the mouth. Solid carbonation, resin and orange peel finish.

Notes: Well done here! Westbrook has been very impressive in its short lifespan as a brewery and they put out some fantastic stuff, especially the IPAs, and the guys from GBX/CBX are just ballers

M: Medium-full bodied; pretty high carbonation with some zing; dry, puckering bitter on the end lingers for a while.

D/O: Pretty drinkable for 8.9% - which is barely noticeable in the aroma or taste; a very bitter brew which finishes a touch dry; considering oranges were used in the brewing process for this one, maybe it’ll give you a little Vitamin C boost, too.

A: Poured from a growler to a tulip glass. Had an orange color and a cloudy consistency. There was an inch and a half of creamy, long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: A very citrusy aroma, along with the requisite amount of hops.

T: Like the smell, the flavor was heavy on the citrus (grapefruit, some orange). There was a good amount of hops to be found, but not as much as I would have expected. Also a nice amount of malt to balance it out. A nicely complex flavor.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a somewhat slick finish. Medium-bodied.